CEMETERIES , also a business
What do cemeteries and city roads have in common? They serve people but not in the same way. City roads have to move people from place to place, quickly, cheaply and safely. Cemeteries, on the other hand act as the final resting place for people but the grave sites must be well maintained into perpetuity and the graves require expensive maintenance. The problem with roads and cemeteries is the number of persons using them, which is increasing at a faster and faster rate
In 1988 a double plot was available near Torrance, a small town in Muskoka for $300. In 2001 the same double plot was $350. It seemed expensive for 60 sq. feet of grass covered land which was subject to field dirt from crops grown near-by. But it was a real bargain when the same size plot in a municipal cemetery in Kitchener was $2400 or $4600 at Breslaus Memorial Gardens owned by Arbor Memorial Inc the countries largest cemetery chain. Yes, you read me correctly, there are cemetery chains and the top price for a double at this time is $32,000 at Mount Pleasant cemetery off Yonge St between Eglinton and St. Clair. The 533 sq ft of cost in Mount Pleasant cemetery makes the $83 per square foot relatively cheap for land in the Beaches in Toronto.
The problems arise, whether it is a non-profit cemetery in a church-yard or a profit orientated cemetery owned by a chain in a big municipality, is to maintain the grounds in perpetuity . For my grandmother`s grave you had a choice. Pay a huge amount on burial or pay a small amount every few years. The obligation goes on for ever but children and relatives to pay the maintenance, don`t ,and the grave sites must look well-cared for.
Land, is the basic challenge for cemeteries in urban areas. Cemeteries do not pay taxes and cities and small towns are not happy to turn agricultural land into tax-free cemeteries. As well cemeteries do not grow food. The public does not easily think of cemetery companies as businesses but they are. “Service Corporation International” SCI the biggest cemetery company buries about 5000 people in Canada. As a comparison, church-yards and village cemeteries do about 12,000 traditional burials. Recently cemetery companies in order to remain financially sound have under-gone vertical integration and own funeral homes as well.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no organization that monitors the work done in cemeteries. Graves can be too close to each other, bodies were dropped into a foot of water, and it has happened a body was buried in the wrong plot and never moved . It is not impossible that unattended graves had, over the years been “scooped”–which is to say emptied of human remains and offered up for resale. In Chicago in 2009 operators of a cemetery were convicted of disinterring old remains, tossing them in common graves and reselling the plots .
North American cemetery companies have been selling eternal care since the mid 20th century but when relatives stop payng there could be problems. In Elizabethan days when churches needed money they moved the bodies and sold the space again.. A while back in San Francisco bodies were moved on the strength that the area was a breeding ground for disease.
Most provinces have laws on the books which force companies to put away money for maintenance, but the return on investment to maintain the plots, is not what it once was.
With the movement of people into the cities, and the desire of people to be near the gravesite of relatives there is no quick solution at hand. The use of cremation has grown. In 1962 5000 of the nearly 150,000 Canadians who died chose this route, but by 1985 50,000 (26%) did the same. Cemetery analysts predict that in the near future 70-85% will end their days on earth by being reduced to ashes. This will save a lot of space.
